A Couple Millimetres
by Eillipses
Summary: When Mizuki threw the shuriken at Naruto and Iruka, it landed a few millimetres to the side, and it actually killed Iruka. Watch as Naruto grows with grim determination to achieve his dream, and his fallen sensei's last wish. Currently abandoned.
1. Prologue

I cannot _believe_ that I'm doing this. But the inspiration just hit me, and I'm at a major loss at what to do with the sequel of Pinnacles. So..myeh.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - One  
Word Count w/o AN - 1107  
Word count with AN - 1355  
Summary - When Mizuki threw the shuriken at Naruto and Iruka, it landed a few millimetres to the side, and it actually killed Iruka. Watch as Naruto grows with grim determination to achieve his dream, and his fallen sensei's last wish.

Don't own Naruto.

Anyways, welcome to my first multi-chapter fanfiction which I _hope_ to complete.

**

* * *

****- ****Prologue**

He couldn't believe it. He had failed. Again.

For the umpteenth time, he had been unable to produce a proper bunshin for the graduation exam. Now he had to return to the academy while his peers and classmates became real ninja of Konohagakure.

That's right, his _peers_. Not his friends, but his classmates. He had no friends. Everyone hated him, for some unknown reason. Whenever he tried to make friends, they'd shun him and shoo him away, or their parents would come and shout at him.

He was miserable, and he knew it.

He just wouldn't let anyone else know it.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto sat dejectedly on a rooftop while he watched the others be congratulated by their families.

_Family_.

To him, it had always been just a word, a bunch of letters put together. It held no meaning to him. He had no idea what it was like to have a family. He was alone, always alone. The adults loathed him, and they had spread it to their children. No one would associate with him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt someone arrive beside him. He looked to his right – it was Mizuki-sensei, a chuunin academy instructor. Naruto like him, he had vouched for him when he failed that day's test.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Hi, Mizuki-sensei."

"You know, Iruka wasn't trying to be mean or nasty to you. He was just doing his job."

Naruto snorted. "Oh yeah? Then why does he continue to pick on me?"

Mizuki gave him a sad smile. "I think that Iruka wants you to be truly strong when you go out into the world of the ninja. He doesn't want you to get hurt because he favoured you."

"Yeah, well, I'm still stuck at the academy for another year."

Mizuki grinned. "Let me tell you a little secret…"

* * *

"Iruka! Iruka!"

Umino Iruka was awakened up in the middle night by a loud pounding on his front door. He quickly opened up because of the urgency of the voice.

"Mizuki? What's going on?"

"It's Naruto! He's stolen the Forbidden Scroll!"

"_What_? Why would he do that? How does he even know that it _exists_?"

"I don't know, but Hokage-sama has ordered us to find him and return the scroll!"

"Okay. Let's go."

"You go that way, and I'll go south."

And with that, the two chuunin leaped away. Iruka didn't see the wicked grin on Mizuki's face.

"_Naruto!_"

Iruka landed on a patch of grass in front of the exhausted looking blonde. "What do you think you're doing?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly, like a young child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Heh. You found me. And I only had enough time to learn one technique!"

"Learn one..? Naruto, what were you doing here with that scroll? _Why_ are you here?"

Naruto looked a bit surprised. "Mizuki-sensei said that if I could learn a jutsu from this scroll, you would let me pass! Let me show you this awesome move I learned! Then you'll _have_ to let me graduate!"

As Naruto was rambling, Iruka was thinking. "_Mizuki..? But that would mean…_"

"NARUTO! MOVE!"

Iruka suddenly lunged at Naruto, pushing him into the wall of the cabin, as several shuriken rain down from the trees. Iruka winced. "Naruto…are you okay?"

Frozen with fear and surprise, the blonde didn't respond to his question. "I-iruka-sensei? W-what..?"

"Damn. Didn't think you'd actually find him, Iruka."

"Mizuki!"

Said silver-haired man smirked. "Well, I guess I'll just have to kill you later." He turned to Naruto. "Now, give me the scroll."

"Don't give it to him, Naruto! He's just going to use it to destroy us all!"

He didn't answer. "Why did you save me before?"

Iruka smiled sadly. "It's because we're the same, Naruto. We both grew up without parents. I know how hard it is to grow up all alone, with no one to look out for you. And if I was a little more aware, I could have helped you…forgive me, Naruto."

"I-iruka-sensei.."

Mizuki let out a cruel laugh. "Do you honestly believe him? He's just trying to get the scroll back from you. Let me tell you something, Naruto. Have you ever wondered why everyone hates you? Why they always glare at you? Why the treat you worse than dirt? It's because twelve years ago, a rule was decreed by that fool, the Third. The rule was that you could never know. The truth is that.."

He was cut off by Iruka. "NO! Don't! You can't!" He screamed, despite his injuries.

The traitor ignored him. "The truth is that you, Uzumaki Naruto, are the Kyuubi no Kitsune who attacked Konoha twelve years ago!"

Naruto's eyes widened. His knees buckled and he dropped to the ground. "No….you're lying! It can't be true!"

Mizuki's mouth twisted into a demented grin. "But it is! Now, die, you demon!" He threw the giant shuriken that was strapped across his back.

_Splat!_

Naruto had prepared for the impact; for death, but it never came. Instead, he felt drops of warm liquid fall onto his face. He opened his eyes, and saw Iruka-sensei above him, the metal weapon imbedded into his back.

Mizuki was livid. "Why? Why must you interrupt? WHY DO YOU PROTECT A DEMON?"

"Y-you're right, Mizuki. Why would a protect a demon?"

Naruto's heart plummeted, but Iruka kept going.

"I would never protect a demon, b-but he knows the pain of being human. He knows emotions, he feels. H-he is but a contained, n-not the nine tails."

Iruka fell down onto his back beside Naruto. "He is Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure!"

Mizuki just laughed. "Psh. Whatever. You're just going to die. That went straight into your backbone."

Naruto's eyes widened even further when he heard that. Iruka coughed. "L-listen, Naruto. Never believe anyone when they said that you are the Kyuubi."

His voice grew softer. He took off his hitai-ate. "Y-you are your own person. N-never forget that. You'll be the greatest Hokage in the history of K-Konoha."

He slowly attached it to Naruto's forehead. "I-I believe in you, N-naruto…"

And then he lay still.

"_IRUKA-SENSEI!"_

Naruto looked up and gave Mizuki the coldest of glares. "You absolute _bastard_…I'm going to kill you!"

Mizuki scoffed. "Like a kid like you could even scratch me. I'll kill you in one shot!"

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he put his hands into a cross-shaped handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, a thousand Naruto's surrounded the area. Mizuki looked around, scared. He screamed as they pounded him. After awhile, Naruto dispelled his clones and left Mizuki to rot.

He walked over to where Iruka lay still. He gave Mizuki's pathetic form one last glare of contempt.

He sat down next to Iruka's body, and wept.

* * *

Well, there you have it! It continues on from there, but don't expect updates too soon. Maybe once a month? Ugg..I have to find time to write.

Edit - poll's been removed. And updates will be WAY less frequent than that. 


	2. Kyuubi

Don't own, don't sue.

Second chapter! Got this one out quick - just nine days! I had nothing to do, so I decided to write. I'm not sure this chapter's that good, though. I'm not quite that pleased with it, but it'll have to do. It's shorter, too, at 1085. Twenty-two words less then the first chapter!

Thanks for the reviews! Five for one chapter! Special thanks goes to SAQ78642 for being my FIRST REVIEWER!

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Two  
Word Count w/o AN - 1085  
Word count with AN - 1276  
Summary - When Mizuki threw the shuriken at Naruto and Iruka, it landed a few millimetres to the side, and it actually killed Iruka. Watch as Naruto grows with grim determination to achieve his dream, and his fallen sensei's last wish.

* * *

**A Couple Millimetres – Chapter Two; Kyuubi**

Naruto woke up not to the sound of birds chirping as he usually would, but to a deep voice that seemed to come from every direction. "**Wake up.**"

Groggily, the exhausted ninja got up and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, everything from the previous night came rushing back to him. He jumped up, suddenly alert. He took a good look at his surroundings. "Where the hell am I? Let me out!"

The voice snorted. "**We're in your mind, you idiot. Let yourself out.**" It paused, and then as an afterthought it added, "**If you can.**"

Naruto just stood there pondering, before coming to a startling realization. "YOU! _You're_ the reason everyone hates me! _You're_ the reason my life has been a living hell! You're the Kyuubi!"

"**Very good. Maybe you're not a **_**complete**_** mor-**"

"_I'm going to kill you!_"

**

* * *

**

The Kyuubi sighed. He was a (relatively) humble demon, at least compared to some egotistic freaks such as the Ichibi, Shukaku, or the eight-tailed Hachibi. He enjoyed living quietly, eating meat raw and drinking the blood, maybe destroy a village once in a while. But _no_, that fucking Hokage had to seal him into the dead last of the Academy, the loudest idiot of the village, the stupidest ninja of history…

Well, you get the point.

So here he was, thinking that he could finally have a conversation with someone, talk, insult, have some fun with after twelve long years of sleeping and watching. But then that _idiot_ Mizuki had to go and kill the other guy, and piss off the brat to no end.

_He's_ the reason Kyuubi had a thousand blonde runts rushing into his cage punching, kicking, and _biting_ him in anger, since the kid knew no real offensive jutsus, just the basics of the Academy and the supplementary Kage Bunshin.

He waited a few minutes, and decided that he had let Naruto have his fun. "**ENOUGH!**" He boomed, expelling a tiny amount of demonic chakra through his numerous tenketsu. The Naruto clones all flew off before dispelling in a puff of smoke, leaving the original at the inner edge of the cage.

"**That was a stupid stunt, kid, coming into my cage.**"

"Whatever," was the reply as Naruto huffed and crossed his arms childishly.

"**Listen. I hate this as much as you do, but it's necessary.**"

"Really?" asked Naruto semi-sarcastically, slightly interested.

"**Here's the deal – I train you until I deem you satisfactory.**"

Naruto snorted and sarcastically said, "Why the hell would you, oh-high-and-might-Kyuubi, want to help _me_, a lowly mortal?"

"**Two reasons, which are both for my gain. One, I refuse to have a weakling ninja as a jailor, and two – you die, I die. Got it?**"

Naruto grumbled indecisively, leaving the cage. He paced around thinking.

"**It would help you become Hokage. Don't you want to fulfill your sensei's last wish?**"

At the mention of Iruka, Naruto's eyes hardened.

"I'll do it."

**

* * *

**

Sandiame rubbed his temples in a last attempt to clear his headache. For the first time in a while, he was at a lost for what to do. Iruka was no longer with them, he sadly noted, and the traitor Mizuki was nearly there as well. As for Naruto, he was just lying there, unconscious, after crying himself to sleep.

He noticed something rather strange, though. For a fraction of a second, demonic chakra, youki, had burst out of Naruto's tenketsu, before dissipating into oblivion once more. He frowned, and was slightly worried about the seal.

He could only hope that Naruto was alright.

**

* * *

**

"**First, we need to make sure that you aren't classified as a nuke-nin.**"

"How do we do that?"

"**You need to regain consciousness, for starters.**"

"Eh?"

"**You fell asleep, woke up here, attacked and tried to kill me – which you failed miserable at, by the way – and your body is still over the corpse of the Academy instructor.**"

Kyuubi stopped to growl.

"**Now piss off, you're annoying me**," was all he said before Naruto's vision filled with darkness before he opened his eyes to the blue sky and tip of trees.

"Shit. What hit me? Aw, my head…" He woke up to find that his entire body ached.

"**Making a thousand Kage Bunshin will do that to you,**" came the voice of the demon from his head.

"AH! What the hell!"

"**I'm speaking to you from your mind. Now you might want to **_**mentally**_** send messages, lest your village think that you finally lost it.**"

"Shut it."

"**My, what a creative response. Anyways, you need to tell that Hokage of yours you'll be gone for a week.**"

Naruto started off, but was stopped by his demon. "**That'll take too long, brat. Can you control chakra yet?**"

"Yes!" was the indignant answer.

"**Well enough, anyways, I suppose. Take your chakra now and spread it out into a thin layer around you.**"

Naruto complied.

"**Notice the small feeling you're getting from the dying silver-haired one?**"

Naruto nodded. "**That's his diminishing chakra as he dies.**"

He nodded again, surprised Mizuki was dying, but not remorseful. '_He deserved it_' he thought angrily.

"**Now take that chakra field and spread it out further, towards Konoha.** **It's usually extremely difficult to locate a specific chakra source, but your Sandaime's is easily the largest chakra there.**"

Naruto closed his eyes for a few seconds, and reopened them. "I found him."

"**Good, now concentrate your chakra on his.**"

The boy did so, and he could dimly see the shape of the old man if he closed his eyes.

"**Concentrate all your chakra onto his head, and think your message across the chakra line.**"

He concentrated, and thought, '_Old man?'_

A few seconds later, he heard, '_Naruto?_' It was distant, as if he was far away, which he was.

'_Hey, old man, I'm going to be away for a week. Would you mind postponing the day the Genin get their teams until then? Oh, and have Iruka-sensei's funeral a week from now too._'

'_A-alright, Naruto. But you have a lot of explaining to do when you get back. Report to my office at once when that time comes._'

'_Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Just don't forget._'

'_Good luck, Naruto. Farewell._'

'_Later._'

**

* * *

**

The Sandiame Hokage sighed sadly, not for the first time that day.

'_I hope you know what you're doing, Naruto._'

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it! I'm not sure it's up to scratch, and it's kind of boring, but it's required to get the story going. Which it won't be for a while, though. Sorry. I really need to fit in his training. Maybe I'll do a timeskip or two to pick up the pace. 


	3. Training

The third chapter, and my longest one yet - 1203 words without author's notes. It was four pages, which is pretty long for me. Enjoy.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Three; Training  
Word Count w/o AN - 1203  
Word count with AN - 1380  
Summary - Kyuubi takes Naruto out to train in a forest, and informs him of how the week is going to go.

Oh right, and I'm going to rap up the training next chapter, as well as maybe fit in the return to Konoha.

* * *

"So what now?" 

"**I told you not to speak out loud – people will think you're insane, or they'll find out about you talking to me, and then you'll be executed."**

"M'eh."

"**Argh!**"

Naruto was hopping along the forest from tree to tree, getting farther and farther away from his beloved village and home. He was a bit sad to be leaving, but he knew he'd be back in a week and that he'd be getting stronger. That thought kept him going.

Kyuubi, on the other hand, was as about as happy as a snowball in hell. He knew he had to train the brat, or else he'd get them both obliterated on their first mission above D-rank. But that didn't mean he had to be happy about.

Finished shouting in annoyance, the demon started to give information to Naruto. "**While you were talking to the old man, I was planning a rough outline of the week for your training.**"

Naruto snorted. '_Who needs a schedule? Teach me some kick-ass jutsus, and I'll own everyone._"

Kyuubi, half-relieved and half-pissed at the fact that Naruto finally started to mentally convey images, sighed and replied, "**No, dumbass. Most of the jutsus I know require a shitload of chakra as well as mental and physical endurance. You have neither. And some of them need a bit of refined chakra control too – you're not even close to being ready for them.**"

'_And how the hell am I supposed to gain that in a week?_'

"**I'm going to train you to a repectable level for a genin this week only so that you won't make a complete idiot out of yourself. We'll work on more advanced stuff later.**"

'_Psh. Whatever.'_

**

* * *

**"**Stop.**" 

Naruto skidded over and fell to the ground at the sudden and unexpected command. "Ow! God dammit!"

"**This will do. See that cave over there?**"

'_Yeah?_'

"**That's your home for the next seven days.**"

'_You have really crappy taste in housing._'

Ignoring him, Kyuubi continued on.

"**Here's the schedule – we stay at the cave and work on your physical stamina, as well as your survival skills. Then we'll move on to chakra control fir the next three days. That leaves us two days to work on some jutsus.**"

"A little rushed, don't you think?" asked Naruto sarcastically, forgetting about not speaking aloud.

"**We only have a week, so shut up and start working.**"

'_What the hell do I do?_'

"**Go fetch some food for yourself. I'd say it's about noon. You've got an hour to catch it, and thirty minutes to eat. If you're not done in one and a half hours, we're skipping lunch.**"

'_WHAT?_'

"**We don't have that much time, remember? Now get moving, brat. You only have one hour and twenty-nine minutes left.**"

Grumbling, Naruto left to catch himself some food.

**

* * *

**Spotting a thin and shallow stream, the loud blonde dropped down to do some fishing. He tried in vain to grab some with his bare hands. He managed to catch one once, but it slipped right out of his hand back into the water. He attempted for half an hour before stopping. 

"Dammit…there must be a way to keep the fish from escaping. If I knew some Suiton jutsus, I could just move the water out of the lake…"

After thinking for awhile, he grinned and exclaimed, "Yes! I have it! In your face, fish!"

He put his hands into the familiar cross-shaped handseal. "Kage Bunshin no Justu!"

Fifty short blondes materialized and jumped into the streak. Some dived and some stayed on top, and they made two human walls between some fish. "Ha!"

The remaining ten clones jumped in and tried to get the fish out of the water. They still slipped in between his fingers, however. So they took off their orange jumpsuits and surrounded the fish before dragging them up to shore, where they let the fish flop around and die out of the water.

"**You've got thirty minutes.**"

"SHIT!"

He quickly collected some dead wood and started rubbing them together. "C'mon, c'mon! Burn, damn you! Burn!"

It didn't. Naruto got so mad, he took a kunai and lunged it as hard as he could into a nearby rock. It made a resounding _Clang!_ and bounced off. But more importantly, a spark flew from the impact into his pile of wood and leaves, started a small fire.

"**Brat, you must be the luckiest idiot I've ever seen. You've discovered flint. Congratulations. Flint can make sparks, which, as you now know, can make fire.**"

But Naruto wasn't listening. He was too busy spearing some fish and placing them over the fire.

"**Are you even listening?**"

"Yeah yeah – flint equals fire. Got it."

Kyuubi desperately wanted to bang his head against the bars of his cage.

"Ah crap! Crap! Damn! Crap! It's burning! Ah!!" Naruto swiftly plucked the fish out of the fire. They were only slightly burned, however.

Kyuubi sniggered. "_**Serves you right.**_"

**BREAKER LINE**

Twelve fish later, Naruto fell to the floor, bloated and tired. '_Ah…that was good._'

"**Hey, what the hell are you doing, runt?**"

Naruto, in a dreamlike sleepy stage, suddenly jumped up. "Eh? Whozzat?"

"**Wake up, dumbass. Go wash your face in the stream and come back for training.**"

"Uuug.."

He slowly trudged down to the water and washed up. Once again alert, he questioned about his training.

"**Since we're in the middle of a forest and we don't have much time, we'll just have to make do with what we've got. Go pick up those rocks over there.**"

Naruto did so.

"**Now stick them in your pockets. Tie up your sleeves and put rocks there as well. These will be your weights for now.**"

When he finished, Kyuubi informed him that that was about two pounds he had on him. "**Not much, but that's the best we can do for now**."

'_Alright…and?_'

"**Now drop and give me a hundred push-ups.**'

Naruto sweatdropped, but obeyed.

While he was doing that, Kyuubi was talking. "**Now, since I'm doing this and teaching your loser ass, you're going to have to refer to me as "Kyuubi-sensei," got it?**"

It was a good thing he didn't have to talk out loud, because by now Naruto was out of breath and tired. '_Don't push it, fox._'

"**You can't blame a demon for trying.**"

**

* * *

**"**Give me a final hundred.**" 

'_Fine._'

After ten minutes and the push-ups were done, Naruto got up, complete unwinded and unhindered.

"**I think you're ready.**"

'_So do I. I've been thinking that for a while now._'

It was two days later, and Naruto was much stronger than before Iruka's death. It had only been two days, but the Kyuubi had been driving him ragged for those days. He had to complete one hundred push-ups every two hours, as well as five hundred sit-ups every three hours. He ran over two hundred kilometres in those two days, greatly enhancing his already great endurance. He ran, jumped, dug, among many other things, and was twice as strong as he was before, at least physically.

"**You ready for chakra control training?**"

'_Just tell me what to do already._'

Kyuubi grinned at the reaction he was going to get from the blonde runt when he gave him his task.

"**Alright, then. You asked for it. Remember that.**"

* * *

This chapter took longer - thirteen days. The other one took nine. But they're both still faster than my estimate of a month. Maybe I'll get a chapter up once every two weeks then. 

Until next time!


	4. Return

This is more of a filler chapter than anything else. It finishes of the training. Don't worry, people! It'll start picking up soon. But then I'll have to go through the dreaded...WAVE COUNTRY ARC!

Holy crap! At 1874 words and five pages without ANs, this is definitely my longest chapter yet! Who knows, maybe they'll get longer. But don't expect much, people. They might regress as well.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Four; Return  
Word Count w/o AN - 1874(!)  
Word count with AN - 2108  
Summary - Naruto returns from his training with three new jutsus under his belt and much better chakra control.

* * *

"OW!" 

A loud resounding yelp of pain echoed through the forest for the twentieth time. Zooming in, you can see a short blonde child of twelve years sitting on the ground and rubbing his behind, while grumbling and cursing.

"God damn son of a bitch! What the hell kind of training is this?"

"**The chakra control kind.**"

'_Shut up! That was a question that you don't answer, smartass!_'

"**You mean a **_**rhetorical**_** question?**"

'_Screw you._'

"**No thanks.**"

'_Fag._'

* * *

_Flashback no Jutsu!_

"**Run up a tree.**"

'_The hell?_'

"**I said, run up that tree over there. No hands.**"

'_How the crap am I supposed to do that?_'

"**Apply chakra to your feet, and use it to attach them to the tree's trunk. Then walk or run up the tree.**"

Naruto snorted. "That's not so hard."

Kyuubi laughed. "**Then get to it, runt.**"

'_**This should be interesting.**_'

**

* * *

**_Kai!_

Ten minutes later and twenty-one painful falls later, Naruto grew quite frustrated. He failed to even get pass two steps. He couldn't understand it. When he went slowly, he could stand still on the tree trunk with his feet sticking, but when he tried to move, he'd fall.

In the back of his mind, he heard Kyuubi laughing his ass off. '_Alright, fox, what the fuck am I doing wrong?_'

"**Isn't it obvious what I left out?**"

'_If it was, I wouldn't be asking. Now answer the damn question!_'

"**You apply chakra to your feet to attach to the tree. You can stay attached, but you fall when you try to move. Use what brains you possess and **_**think**_**, you moron. The **_**second you lift your feet,**_** you fall. Don't you feel a little off when you try to lift your feet?**"

Naruto didn't respond, and instead lifted his foot to the tree and stuck it on. When he tried to remove it, he met a little resistance. '_It's hard for me to pull it off. That's what was putting me off balance. But _why_ is it doing that?_'

"**You're applying a constant stream of chakra into the tree.**"

'_What? OH! Of course – my chakra makes it a bit harder to pull my foot off, pulling me off balance and making me fall! So what do I do about it?_'

"**You let go of the chakra when you pull off your foot, and you have to re-apply it when the foot lands on the wood again. Plus, if you apply too much, the weak bark will break. Too little, and you'll fall on your sorry ass again. That's why it's such a good exercise. It improves your control as well as your timing.**"

'_Doesn't mean I have to like this gayass training._'

He tried it again, and this time made it up a third of the tree's height before falling back down. Sighing, he once again ran up the tree.

**

* * *

**

"Ha!"

One day and seventy-five runs up and down the tree later, Kyuubi deemed Naruto ready to move on.

"**Okay. You're done with this. You've got two hours to recuperate and eat. Go.**"

When the designated time ran out, a slightly fresher Naruto stood in front of the water, instructed to stand and walk on it.

"**There are two ways to go about this. One is to make "stilts" out of your chakra, which takes up more chakra and requires a constant stream. This method is harder than tree climbing, because even though you only need a constant stream of chakra, you'll have to learn to balance yourself on your stilts.**"

The demon stopped to let Naruto absorb the knowledge, before continuing.

"**The second way is easier, but has a major disadvantage. The idea of this one is to use your chakra and spread it along the surface of the water, creating platforms, or making the entire body of water like land. The bad thing about this is that it takes up a bit more chakra and that your opponent can stand on your platforms.**"

'_If you're done yakking, I'm going to start now._'

"**Ungrateful little brat.**"

But Naruto was already at the bottom of the pond after his first failed attempt at water-walking.

**

* * *

**

"**You've got one exercise left.**"

Naruto nodded, ignorant of the fact that Kyuubi couldn't see him.

"**You're going to combine water-walking with tree climbing. You're going to be running up a waterfall. First, create the stilts and place a foot on the waterfall. Then you're going to further spread chakra on the bottom of your stilts and attach yourself to the wall behind. Finally, you walk up.**"

'_Am I only going to combine one way of water walking?_'

"**After you finish that, spread your chakra over the falls and attach your soles to the wall of chakra. That's it. Well, what are you waiting for? Go, you dumbass!**"

**

* * *

**

Since it was just a mixture of two previous exercises that he'd already mastered, it didn't take him too long to get the hang of it. The only problem was the waterfall pushing him back down. And even despite that, he completed it in only half a day.

Kyuubi gave him three hours of free time before he had to return to his cave. Naruto spent some of his time wondering why exactly he listened to everything Kyuubi said. He had agreed to receive training for the demon fox, but why did he listen to his orders, stay within his time limit?

It wasn't like the Kyuubi could do anything about it. He was safely tucked back in a cage, unable to harm him. Naruto supposed it was because sometime in the first two days during physical training, he had learned that while a bitchy demon who had tried to destroy his village, he still never did anything to hurt Naruto, and that his training worked really well.

Which brought up another point.

'_Hey, Kyuubi._'

"**Yeah?**"

Naruto hesitated, suddenly apprehensive.

'_Why did you attack Konoha?_'

Kyuubi snorted. "**If you're looking for some deep emotional answer, you're not going to get it. Why do you think I did it? I'm a evil, overbearing, all-powerful demon. I destroy stuff. It's my nature. Though admittedly, I don't usually attack things as big as Konoha. I usually get rid of small stuff. Maybe a poor village that was going to die out anyway, or some rich bastards who think they're all that.**"

Naruto was taken about, not expecting that. But Kyuubi wasn't finished.

"**It was that snake-freak's fault, if you want someone to blame. What'd he say his name was? Orochimaru or something. Anyways, that retard tried to defeat me and take my powers. I kicked his ass, of course, but then he used a weird jutsu to try to take over my physical body. To escape, I left the body and went into a healing sleep to regenerate. And I'm always cranky after waking up from a long nap. Oh, and he was from Konoha too, so I went and killed people. Simple as that.**"

'_Only you would call that 'simple.''_

"**In your immortal words, 'Meh.'**"

'_Ass._'

**

* * *

**

Three hours came and passed, and now we find our hero back at his cave.

"**Now, I need you to come here.**"

''_Here?''_

"**Into your mind.**"

'_How do I do that?_'

"**It's usually impossibly difficult to get into one's own mind, but since I'm here, it's relatively simple. Can you feel the massive chakra I'm emitting?**"

'_Yeah._'

"**Now just do what you did with the old man, except on a larger scale. Instead of forming a line connecting to my chakra, I want you to concentrate all of it onto mine. Pull it in.**"

Naruto scrunched up his face in concentration, and found himself engulfed in darkness. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and stared into the huge eyes of the nine-tails.

"**So you made it.**"

"So I made it."

"**You realize you're inside my cage, right?**"

"Yeah, and?"

"**Hm. You're braver than I thought. I need you in here anyways for your jutsu training.**"

"Jutsus! Awesome! Now I'll be able to kick everyone's asses!"

"**Slow down, you fool. I'll only teach you the basic fundamentals shinobi require, and if we have time we'll move on. Then later on, we'll improve your repertoire extensively over your shinobi career.**"

"Che. That's boring."

"**Whatever. Moving on. Teaching you the Bunshin no Jutsu is pointless, since you have the Kage version. And you already have the Henge down in the form of the Oiroke no Jutsu. So we'll work on the most useful common technique there is – Shunshin no Jutsu. I'd work on Kawarimi, the most useful Academy jutsu, but Kawarimi builds on the Shunshin.**"

"Okay..so teach."

"**Shunshin no Jutsu is a technique that allows you to move at quick speeds, faster than the normal human eye can perceive. The principal is to use chakra to project yourself forward, or into the direction you want to go. To make landing smoother, you can't project some chakra ahead of time to cushion yourself.**"

"Alrighty – let's practice!"

**

* * *

**

"Shit! This is taking way too long!"

"**Don't rush, idiot. Take your time.**"

"We only have two days!"

"**Oh, did I forget to mention it?**" Kyuubi asked innocently.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Mention what?"

"**Since we're in your mind and my cage, I can use my youki to bend time here. So you have a week in here, at max.**"

"Why didn't you do this for the rest of my training?"

"**Because exercising in here is pointless, as your form is pure chakra and your physical body is unconscious, so you won't get any stronger. I can teach you jutsus in here, because you just need to find out how to manipulate your chakra.**"

"That's great and all. I'm going back to my training now."

**

* * *

**

It had taken Naruto a total of three days to master Shunshin, and another one to get the hang of Kawarimi. Kawarimi was much simpler, as it was just a Shunshin with you projecting an object back to where you were previously.

Naruto was as happy as hell now, because Kyuubi had announced that they were going to finally learn an offensive jutsu, as he wouldn't be able to damage an opponent at all with a few simple, albeit useful, supplementary jutsus.

"**Alright, brat, today we're going to be learning the Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu. It's a C-Rank technique, so it'll be the hardest one you'll have learned so far. What it does is shoot a large fireball out of your mouth, hence the name.**"

"Big fireball. Got it."

"**So what you do is..**"

**

* * *

**

"**It's time. Wake up and get back to the village. Hurry.**"

"Gee, thanks for the advance notice," was the sarcastic reply.

"**Just go before you're late.**"

Back in the real world, Naruto proudly tied his hitai-ate to his forehead in place of his goggles, and headed out. It was a good thing Kyuubi had him running so much the first two days, so that his speed had increased a smidge and his endurance had greatly improved.

He ran passed the hut where he had learned the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu that fateful night, seven days ago. He noted that both Mizuki's and Iruka's bodies were gone. '_Konoha probably collected them._'

The first thing Naruto did was visit the Third.

"Yo, old man. I'm back."

To say that the Sandaime Hokage was pleasantly surprised would be a major understatement.

* * *

My longest chapter, though even I find it pretty boring. But I put it out pretty quick, too! Two days. 

To The Three Stoogies, I really like that idea! I might do it if I don't have them both die, and Harem doesn't get in the way of Haku dying. And was this soon enough for you? ;-)


	5. Team Seven

Been awhile, hasn't it? It's been exactly two weeks. Well guys, I think my statement at the beginning about pushing out one chapter a month while start happening soon. The summer will be pretty busy. I have to practice the piano in order to prepare for my test in mid-August (and believe me, I need the practice) and every day I gotta go to the piano theory class which gives about fifteen pages of homework which I gotta finish by the next day.

I'll try though. This is a pretty boring chapter, and it follows canon a lot, but I had to. You can't change everything and keep it "Naruto." It's IS a big-ass chapter, though. Almost 3500 words. I hope to get this fic to over 100 000 words by the end of it. Let's see if I make it.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Five, Team Seven  
Word Count w/o AN - 3428  
Word count with AN - 3622  
Summary - The teams are assigned, and Team Seven are but through the rigorous bell test.

* * *

"**You told him **_**everything?**_" 

'_Yeah, so? I know jii-san, and we can trust him with anything,_'

"**Just don't go getting us killed.**"

_

* * *

Flashback no Jutsu!_

"So he…manipulated time and gave you an extra week?"

"That's about right."

Sarutobi's face scrunched up into a worried frown. The Kyuubi was in contact with Naruto? Who knew what the fox was up to?

Seeing his face, Naruto hastily added, "No, no! It's alright! He might be a conniving bitch of a demon fox, but he can't harm me! I die, he dies. And he's safe in the back of my head, so he can't harm anyone else, either!"

Sarutobi sighed. He would just have to trust the boy for now. He believed that Naruto was responsible enough to decide whether or not it was dangerous. "Alright, Naruto. You win for now. You better hurry up. The genin team assignments begin in ten minutes."

Before Naruto could completely get out the door, the Hokage added, "Iruka's funeral will be held tomorrow at 2:00 in the afternoon, in front of the memorial stone."

Naruto froze, and turned around. "I understand."

Right before he turned around and left, he bowed. "Thank you…Hokage-sama."

_

* * *

Kai!_

Naruto yawned. He didn't even bother to listen to the names being called by an Academy instructor he didn't recognize. He felt a pang in his gut at the absence of Iruka, however. A pang he knew would be multiplied an infinity-fold at tomorrow's funeral.

Kyuubi gave him the mental equivalent of a nudge. "**Hey, that's you.**"

Naruto started tuning in just as his name was read. "…ruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura."

'_Yes! I get to be in a group with Sakura-chan!_'

Kyuubi scoffed, and decided to get rid of the problem before it became full-blown. "**What's so special about her? Don't let silly infatuations cloud your mind, you idiot!**"

'_Shut up! What do you know about love?_'

"**I know that you don't love her.**"

Naruto was crossing over from annoyed to angry just as Team Eight was finished being called, not that he heard. '_I do too! How would you know?_'

The demon sighed. "**Fine. Let's say that you do, in fact, love her. What is it that you love about her, other than her looks?**"

'_Well…um…you see…_'

"**See? You only like her because you imagine her as beautiful. Do yourself, and your team a favour, and get over it. If she distracts your during a mission, you're done for.**"

Naruto didn't answer, instead being content to contemplate what was being told to him.

"...maru. You will be Team Ten. Dismissed."

**

* * *

**

That was two hours ago. Or, if you want to be exact:

"**Two hours, fourteen minutes, and twelve seconds. Wait, thirteen. Fourteen now, got it? Sixteen.**"

'_Argh, shut it, dammit! I don't give a damn, about _how _late he is, just that he's _late!'

"**Touchy, aren't we?**"

Bored as hell, one Uzumaki Naruto decided to punish the perpetrator with a righteous prank. His initial thought was a chalkboard eraser on the door, but the Nine-Tails scolded him.

"**Idiot boy! Didn't I teach you any better then that? That trap is much too juvenile and childish! You think a jounin would fall for such a trick?**"

'_Damn…as much as it pains me to admit it…you're right._'

Alas, it only took a great prankster such as Naruto five minutes to come up with a much more elaborate plan of action.

"Dobe, what are you doing?" came a voice from the back of the classroom.

"Che. None of your damned business, you bastard."

Sasuke turned his head to the side and scowled. Psh. Whatever. It was beneath him anyways. Everyone was beneath him. Except for Itachi. Oh, but he would be…

Just slightly creeped out by Sasuke's mad cackling fit, Naruto continued to set up. It took five minutes to set up, and another ten for the victim to be ensnared in his trap.

The door opened, revealing a obviously young man, despite his grey hair, with a mask covering up his face and his hitai-ate covering his left eye and a standard jounin uniform.

No one paid any attention to his attire, though, as the chalkboard eraser fell onto his head, and bounced to the floor.

The silver-haired man stared at the eraser, and then at the kids. "My first thought is-"

He was cut off, however, as the unnoticed string attached to the eraser pushed a small marble onto a basket, giving it just enough weight to fall off onto the end of a teeter totter and launched a water balloon at the unsuspecting ninja.

He predictable stepped back into a wire, which then in turn launched several kunai at the jounin, who ducked under them with apparent ease. He looked up just in time to see a net fall down on him, before a puff of smoke blocked the net and himself off from visible sight.

'_Eh? That wasn't s'pose to happen.._'

When the smoke cleared, it revealed one _very_ annoyed Uchiha Sasuke, caught under the net.

"…"

Naruto burst into laughter, while Sakura looked appalled. Meanwhile, their instructor popped up behind them.

"-that I hate you."

"…**quite blunt, isn't he?**"

"Now meet me on the roof in five minutes."

**

* * *

**

Said five minutes later, the four of them were gathered together. The one-eyed jounin began. " Well, first, I want you all to introduce yourselves to me. Very simple, just your name, likes, dislikes, and maybe a dream for the future?"

Sakura looked up. "Why don't you start, sensei? To show us how it's done?"

"Hmm, alright. My name is Hatake Kakashi, you'll address me as Kakashi-sensei. I have no intention of telling you my likes and dislikes. A dream? Well, I have lots of hobbies…"

Team Seven minus stuck-up Uchiha sweatdropped.

'_So all we learned about him was his name?_'

"**Pretty much, yeah.**"

The newly-named Kakashi clapped. "Now, it's your turn. You first." He pointed to Sakura.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. What I like is-" she giggled and turned to Sasuke. "I dislike Naruto. And my dreams for the future-" she giggled again.

Kakashi mentally slapped his forehead. '_Great. A fangirl._'

Verbally, he said, "Alright. Let's continue. You, emo kid. You're next." He gave Sasuke a pointed look. Sasuke glared back.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like anything, and I hate everything. I do not have a dream, it's more of an…ambition. I wish to kill someone."

'_Expected,_' Kakashi sighed. "And finally, you."

But Naruto wasn't listening. He was burning inside. '_Damn those two to hell! Who do they think they are, not giving _any_ info at all? Fine, three can play at that-_'

He was cut off by a pebble thrown by their new sensei. "Yo! Pay attention!"

"Hmph. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like many things and dislike many things. I have no intention on telling you my dreams."

'_O-kay…_' Kakashi sweatdropped. "Moving on! Tomorrow, we start on some survival training. Meet here at 7:00 in the morning."

Sakura spoke up. "But sensei, we already did that at the Academy!"

Kakashi smirked under has mask, not that anyone could see it. "Ah, well you see, this is a different kind of test. This will determine whether you become Genin or not."

"EH? But we already passed the test!"

"No, that was just to see who had a chance to become Genin."

Naruto was seriously annoyed. "That's bullshit!"

Kakashi scolded him. "Language, Naruto. And if you didn't like that, you'll hate this even more – this survival test has a 66.66 percent chance of failure."

"…damn you."

"Sure. And don't eat breakfast unless you want to throw up. Dismissed."

**

* * *

**

The next morning, Naruto was about to leave when Kyuubi nudged him. "**Eat.**"

'_But Kakashi-sensei said-_'

"**Screw what he said! Can't you stand throwing up a little? Are you **_**that**_** weak? You have to eat, because even if you **_**do**_** vomit, the food will already have been partially digested, which means you get at least **_**part**_** of the nutrients they provide.**"

'_I guess._'

"**And you'll just throw up your body liquids if you don't have any food in you.**"

'_Eeewww!_'

**

* * *

**

At precisely seven o'clock, three ninja-to-be showed up at the training grounds. Their teacher was nowhere to be seen.

"He's late. Again."

Sasuke snorted at Naruto's comment. "We've noticed."

Whatever reply that was about to be thrown back was lost in two simultaneous roars of two separate stomachs.

Naruto just laughed.

**

* * *

**

At precisely 10:00 A.M, one Hatake Kakashi showed up to greet three rather disgruntled ninja hopefuls. Sasuke was glaring at a tree, Sakura was leaning on a rock, and Naruto was sleeping and snoring. Rather loudly, at that.

Kakashi cleared his throat loudly, as it seemed that they didn't notice him, locked in their own little worlds.

Naruto jumped up. Sasuke merely scowled at him. Sakura pointed an accusatory finger at him and screamed, "You're late!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Ah, well, you see, I had to save some fish from drowning."

"That's a lie!"

"Anyways! Let's get started."

He whipped out two bells and jingled them. Your mission is to take these bells from me. Whoever doesn't have one by noon will be tied to that tree trunk to your left and you won't get lunch. You'll also fail and be sent back to the Academy if you don't get a bell."

"But there are only two bells, sensei," Sakura pointed out.

"So you've noticed. One of you will fail."

Naruto snorted. "That's fucked up!"

Kakashi stared at him. "Who are you to say whether or not it's "fucked up" or not? I am the jounin, I am the sensei, _I am the rules_."

"Fine!"

And with that, Naruto charged. And in the blink of an eye, Naruto was on the ground with Kakashi on top of him. "Now, now, don't be so hasty. I didn't say "start" yet, did I?"

He got off. "_Now_, start."

The other two jumped away, but Naruto didn't budge. "C'mon! Let's go! Just you and me, one on one!"

Kakashi sweat dropped. "A ninja's greatest weapon is surprise."

Naruto paid no attention, and instead charged him with a punch. Kakashi easily and almost gracefully turned to the said, caught the blonde's wrist, and flung him away using Naruto's own momentum. He then reached into his kunai pouch, and pulled out a book.

Naruto bounced back, and looked at the cover of the novel. "What the hell? Why the fuck are you reading porn in the middle of a battle?"

"Because a want to find out what happens next."

Naruto charged in once again, before turning sharply to Kakashi's left. The jounin turned to face where Naruto was, only to have "Naruto" pop into a puff of smoke. Kakashi's eye widened slightly in realization.

Suddenly, the real Naruto came from his right and latched onto his back before reaching for a bell. His hand was centimetres away before Kakashi was forced to drop his book to grab Naruto's hand and threw him away into a tree.

What he expected to happen was that Naruto would smash into the tree, or would dematerialize into smoke. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to land on the side of the trunk, and stick for a second before launching back at Kakashi.

Caught by surprise, he wasn't quick enough to dodge. Both of them fell to the ground, with Naruto scrambling for a bell. Kakashi quickly used Kawarimi and got away. When Naruto stood again, he was nowhere in sight.

"Dammit!"

**

* * *

**

'_Phew..'_

Meanwhile, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief. Naruto had almost gotten a bell. _Twice_. He couldn't believe it. Oh well. He was safe now. He'd just have to be more careful.

Though he had the feeling he had forgotten something…

**

* * *

**

Sasuke, who had been watching from afar, was completely dumbstruck. The dobe had managed to nearly snatch the bells. But he had been beaten. And he had heard Sakura scream a few minutes ago, so he must have gotten her, too.

But he wasn't like them. He would win, and advance. The he would quickly get to jounin, before finally getting strong enough to kill, no, strong enough to destroy, no – _torture_ his brother to death.

He spotted Kakashi, and his guard was down. He looked like he had just finished laughing. At Sakura, probably, since Naruto had actually done a pretty decent job. He took the chance to throw several assorted shuriken and kunai at the sensei.

They all struck, or so it seem. "Kakashi" poofed into a log and materialized right behind Sasuke. The emo threw a punch which was caught by Kakashi, followed up with a kick, which was also blocked, before reaching for the jingling bells.

Kakashi sped backwards. Taking the chance while Kakashi was distracted, he quickly formed the horse and the tiger seals.

For the second time that day, Kakashi's one visible eye widened. '_No, he shouldn't have enough chakra for that!_'

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

Sasuke proceeded to spit a big-ass fireball out of his mouth at Kakashi. When the flames cleared, the jounin was nowhere to be seen.

The Uchiha looked around frantically. "Where is he? Left? Right? No. Behind? Above? No."

Kakashi's voice erupted from the ground. "Below!"

"Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!"

Soon, poor Sasuke was nothing but a head sticking above the ground.

As soon as Kakashi left, Sakura showed up.

"_AHH!_"

**

* * *

**

'_I came close to getting the bells, but he expects us to take them through battle. How are three ninja fresh out of the Academy supposed to beat an experienced and seasoned jounin?_'

"**By fighting.**"

'_Eh?_'

"**You've already spoken the answer. You've just not realized it.**"

'_Huh?_'

"**Argh. I'll give you a hint. One drop of water cannot carve rock, can it?**"

'_Of course not!_'

"**But a waterfall can, correct?**"

'_Yeah…?_' Naruto half asked, half stated, not catching on to what the demon was saying.

"**That was your hint. Now figure out the relationship between a waterfall, and a drop of water.**"

Dwelling on it, the blonde soon stumbled upon Sasuke.

Naruto took one look at him, and promptly began to laugh his ass off.

Sasuke growled. "Shut it, dobe!"

"Dead last, am I? Well, in case you didn't notice, _I'm_ not the one with my head sticking out of the ground.

"Whatever. Just get be out of here."

After both Sasuke and Sakura were free and awake, respectively, the awkwardly greeted each other.

"So…"

Sakura spoke up. "Three of us, and not one bell?"

Naruto had a light bulb moment. '_The three of us..that's it! The three of us might stand a chance! That's what you were going on about, wasn't it?_'

He could just feel the Kyuubi smirking. "'**The power of a waterfall is just many drops working together,**"" he quoted smugly.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, but I'll get one next time."

Sakura cheered. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it, Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto sighed. "You're not going to be able to get a bell."

Sasuke froze. "What did you say…?" he asked, slowly and coldly.

"Think about it. We're three people who aren't even Genin yet. Sure, we're strong for people just out of the Academy, but he's a seasoned jounin. There's a reason he's one of Konoha's elite."

Sakura spoke up timidly. "Y-you're right. So we were doomed to fail from the beginning?

The blonde grinned. "We should be able to get at least one bell."

"How?"

Surprisingly, the question came from Sasuke, not Sakura. Naruto's smile grew wider.

"Note that I said _we_ should be able to get one bell. There are three of us, and only one of him."

Sakura nodded slowly. "We outnumber him…but he should still be able to beat all of us, shouldn't he?"

"Yeah, he could probably still whip our asses, but we don't have to defeat him in combat – just take the bells."

The pink-haired girl nodded, but Sasuke just asked, "How do go about doing this?"

Naruto's grin changed into a smirk as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"It all starts with this.."

**

* * *

**

Kakashi was bored. He hadn't spotted any of his little brats for awhile. He wondered a bit about what they were doing. Soon, the tendrils of boredom pulled at him. Absently, he reached for his Icha Icha Paradise book, only to find it missing.

He let out a gasp. 'That's_ what I've been forgetting! I dropped it while battling Naruto. Better go get it._'

He retraced his steps back to where he fought Naruto, and saw the book lying innocently on the ground. As he picked it up, he apparently triggered some kind of trap, as kunai started coming from every direction from the ground up to his neck. He figured it was a lot of Kage Bunshin throwing them or something.

He leaped into the air, and that's when Sasuke appeared and started to fight him. In midair and mid-battle, Sasuke suddenly launched himself away via pushing himself off Kakashi. This forced Kakashi back a litte, and that's when six Kage Bunshin came into existence into the air right under him.

They all formed seals in unison. Kakashi gaped. Naruto was going to use _six_ of them?

"Katon: Gokakyuu no Jutsu!"

It was a pretty smart plan, all in all, launching it in battle where he couldn't dodge. But he wasn't their sensei for nothing. Once the fire cleared, he was no where to be found, and instead, a burned log fell to the ground.

**

* * *

**

'_Damn, that was close. And they had to center a trap around me book. I want my porn, and I want it _now.'

He had to admit, though, the trap was well thought out, and they _did_ work together. Maybe he would pass them after all. He put the thought out of his mind and went to open his book.

"What?" he yelled out loud. He quickly flipped through the pages. '_Blank, blank…they're all blank!_'

Just then, the "book" transformed into Naruto, who quickly grabbed the bells before Kakashi could get away.

"YES!"

**

* * *

**

They were gathered in front of the tree trunks soon. Kakashi sighed. '_One last test._'

"Alright, so you got the bells. Now, which one of you will go back to the Academy?"

"_What?_"

"Don't you remember? There are only two bells. One of you will fail. You have five minutes to discuss."

Instantly, they began squabbling. '_This isn't going to work_,' Naruto thought. '_At this rate, _none _of us will pass_.'

Watching the other two, he asked the Kyuubi. '_Should I?_'

"**It's your decision, kid.**"

'_Hm…dammit._'

He looked at them. "You two go ahead."

Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped. "Eh?"

"You go and pass. I'll fail. Besides, what's another fail or two? It's only one more year, right?"

Sakura looked down. "Naruto…"

"And even though you'll be more experienced, I'll be so damned strong, you guys won't be able to touch me!" he exclaimed, pretending to be cheerful.

She shook her head, "No, I couldn't. You should pass. I was never really too serious about being a ninja. I was just there because Sasuke-kun was. I can catch up later."

Sasuke stared at them coldly. "We all took part in getting the bells. Why should one of us fail?"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah! Why should we?"

"I agree!"

They turned back to Kakashi. He raised an eyebrow. "So have you made your decision?"

"Yeah! Either we all pass, or we all fail! We're a team!"

Kakashi's face darkened. "Oh, really? You think you can speak that way to me?"

Suddenly, they were less confident. But they stood. "Yes."

"Well, then, you guys…"

Naruto and Sasuke glared in defiance, while Sakura looked down at her toes.

"..pass!"

Sakura looked up. "Huh?"

Kakashi smiled. "You guys were the first to grasp the concept of this test. _Teamwork_."

They beamed. Except Sasuke. He smirked.

"It's true that people who do not follow the rules are trash, but people who leave their team mates behind are even worse than trash."

He gave them a thumbs up. "Starting tomorrow, Team Seven starts their first mission!"

* * *

Boring, but I made it longer for compensation for taking so long. 


	6. Goodbye

Well, it's done. Damn took near half a year, but I'm finished. It's a bit short too, clocking in at just over a thousand, but it's more filler than anything else. I have to get out of my writing slump. The chapter was also a bit forced.

I'm looking to start re-editting the earlier chapters. I don't exactly have a beta, see. But oh well.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Six; Goodbye  
Word Count w/o AN - 1018  
Word count with AN - 1270  
Summary - We take the time to honour the bestest Chuunin ever.

* * *

The bastard was late again. 

Naruto was currently going through all the ways he was going to kill Kakashi in his head. And they were all painful.

Sakura was snoozing away under a tree, and Sasuke was sitting on a nearby rock, seemingly composed. Only the constant twitching of his left eye gave him away.

Exactly three hours after the designated meeting time, Kakashi-sensei materialized into existence in front of them. He raised up his hand in a friendly greeting. "Yo!"

"Don't you "yo" me! You're _three fucking hours_ late! What the hell were you doing?"

Kakashi once again scratched the back of his head with a sheepish expression. "Ah, sorry about that. I got lost on the road of life, you see."

Naruto spoke up. "No, I really don't."

"Moving on, there will be no missions today."

"_What?!_ Why not?"

Naruto had been so excited for his first mission. He had been dreaming about the action and the glory all of last night.

"All missions have been cancelled for Umino Iruka's funeral later today. Since he was your sensei in the Academy, I expect you guys to attend."

The usually boisterous blonde was strangely quiet and looked down off to the side. Sakura looked down as well, and Sasuke just adverted his eyes.

"Dismissed."

**

* * *

**

A depressed Naruto walked along the dirt path. He kicked a rock as he went. He had four free hours to kill before Iruka-sensei's memorial service. What to do, what to do. Ninja registration wasn't until four, two full hours after the funeral.

'_When in doubt, train._'

He returned home and promptly yanked himself back into the confines of his mind. "So, what've you got for me today, fox?"

Kyuubi stared down at him. "**First of all, I have to talk to you about how the schedule is going to be now that you're back in the village. One of the most prominent problems is time, of course. What we've seen is that your teacher is at least two hours late every day. We'll use one and a half of those hours, which gives us a bit more than four hours.**"

Naruto nodded mutely, wondering if he could use the last half hour to maim Kakashi.

The fox snorted. **"The last half hour you shall be sleeping."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"**While working out here, your body will be physically unmoving. To others, it will appear as if you were already asleep. Your body will be fully rested – however, you will probably expending a good amount of your chakra here, and the best way to restore chakra is to sleep,"** the demon quickly continued.

Naruto lowered the eyebrow. "Now that you've finished boring me to death, can we start training?"

The Kyuubi rolled his eyes. **"We're going to continue with the Katon jutsus – you picked up on the Gokakyuu pretty quickly. This next jutsu…"**

**

* * *

**

Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet as he stood among the crowd of mostly ninjas. The few scattered whispers were dispersed when the Hokage cleared his throat.

"Thank you all. Today, we are here to pay our respects to a loyal, valiant, honourable man. He may have only attained the rank of Chuunin, but he wore his hitai-ate proudly as a member of Konohagakure. He was all we could have asked for in a ninja – skilled, trustworthy, reliable, faithful. He was a shinobi, a teacher, a mentor, but most of all, a friend. May he rest in peace."

There was a moment of silence as the gathered bowed their heads in respect. As they lifted, some closer friends of the deceased came up to speak. Four people later, the Fire Shadow shocked half the people with his next invitation.

"Finally, before we say farewell, I would like to hear from one more person. A young aspiring ninja, one of Iruka-kun's finest students. I would like to call up….Uzumaki Naruto."

This was greeted by silence, before the riot at last began to start up.

"The demon? You've got to be kidding me!"

"He killed Umino's parents!"

"You can't be serious!"

"Just….what the hell?!"

Sarutobi had enough. " SILENCE! We _will_ let him speak. Naruto is perhaps one of closest people to Iruka. We shall hear what he has to say."

Slowly, amid jeers and taunts, the blonde boy made his way up to the stand. He seemed strangely solemn and silent compared to the rest of the ninja populace. That illusion shattered when he slammed his hand on the stand.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I don't _give_ a crap the you all freakin' hate me! Do you think that I give a shit that you think I'm a damned demon? _No_, I do _not_! Iruka-sensei was a hundred times the ninja all of you are combined! Quit your fucking whining so I can honour the best person I've ever known in my life!"

He stopped to take a breath. "You idiots all think that I have no right to be up here. Well, screw you. Iruka-sensei was a ninja? A teacher? Sure, he was all that, but he was a shitload more! He was the closest thing to family I've ever had, and why? 'cause you guys are fucking blind. He wasn't. Iruka-sensei had his parents killed by the fox, and he _still_ stopped to see who I was, what I was like. He was a friend, a brother, a ninja, but most importantly, _he was a person._ He had his faults and flaws, but he was way better than you assholes!"

Naruto turned to the casket. "I bet you're rolling in your grave, eh, Iruka-sensei? Would've given me this lame lecture about mannerisms at a funeral or whatnot, you would've. But hey, don't you worry, I'm gonna become Hokage for you. And Hokages don't need no freaking manners!"

And with that, he plopped off the stage and snarled at anyone who dared look at him funny. He turned back and said, "Well, I'll see you around, old man Hokage. I'll be saying you later too, Iruka-sensei. And the _rest_ of you, you guys can kiss my fucking ass."

He started walking away and didn't turn back.

* * *

Also, I'm sorry to disappoint a good half of you people (if I have any readers left at all,) but I had a long talk with a good friend of mine, and we decided in the end not to do a harem. I've yet to read a harem story that ends realistically, and since this is actually my first attempt at a multi-chaptered story, _and_ romance, we just think that it'll be easier to stick to the more common pairings. 

Plus, romance is probably going to be a minimal point in the story anyways.

Once again, I apologize to all those who were hoping for a harem-story or a less common pairing, but until I know that I can actually write romance...

Maybe I might do one in the future. Thanks, guys.


	7. Mission

I LIVE! It's been awhile, and no, I have not abandoned this story! It might take me years and years, but I _will_ finish.

Title - A Couple Millimetres  
Chapter - Seven  
Word Count w/o AN - 1507  
Word count with AN - 1875  
Summary - At last, a C-rank mission!

I've yet to get a flame or contructive criticism, but I'm sure that'll end soon enough. But let's get one thing straight, people - if you hate my writing, or my story, tell me _why_. And I don't just mean 'ur pl0x sux u cant rite for shit and everyone's ooc' or something. Any moron could tell me that. Tell me how to _improve_. I won't lie, I'll probably get pissed and disappointed, since no one likes being criticized. In the end, though, I'll have learned something and may be able to put it to good use in the future.

/rant.

* * *

There are many things that ninjas fear throughout their careers. For civilians, the first one that comes to mind is dying, of course. Another easy one would be getting captured and interrogated. If you ask a ninja of any rank, however, there is only one answer.

The greatest fear of all shinobi is having to complete a D-rank mission.

* * *

Twitch.

"Stop twitching, you look like you're about to have a seizure or something."

Twitch.

"If you twitch one more time, I swear I'm going to pound you until twitching is the _only_ thing you can do."

…

…

Twitch.

"God dammit, Naruto! You're embarrassing us!"

Punch. Crash. Twitch.

Mercifully, the silver-haired man wearing a jounin vest had decided to do his job and stop them from creating any more people-shaped holes in the wall. He sighed.

"Now, now, Sakura, there's no need to get violent. He _is_ your teammate, after all."

Before she could retort, he peered down into the newly-created hole and his gaze turned cold. "And _you_, Naruto, if you don't stop that incessant twitching, I'll make sure that you're stuck doing D-ranks for the rest of your life!"

In a heartbeat, Naruto was standing up, still as a statue.

"Hurry up and finish getting the groceries. If you do a good job, I might recommend you for a C-rank."

In half a heartbeat, there were about ten shadow clones running through the aisles. Five minutes later, the mission was completed. Naruto looked expectantly at Kakashi.

For the millionth time since he'd made the stupidest decision in his life and passed Team Seven, he sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

The hyperactive blonde whooped rather loudly, prompting shouts from nearby civilians that he paid no mind. Sakura grinned in triumph, and even Sasuke gave a little satisfactory smirk.

They wouldn't be nearly so happy if they knew what that mission would bring them.

* * *

The Sandaime peered over his desk at the three hopeful genins and the Copy Ninja.

"So…Kakashi has told me that you are ready for a C-rank mission."

Naruto met his gaze. "That's right, Old Man. We're prepared for anything and everything, so don't you dare tell us we're not ready!"

The wizened Hokage chuckled as Sakura 'gently' chided Naruto for his disrespect.

"Alright then, here is your mission," he said, though he might only have given it to them to shut them up.

It worked – he felt three pairs of eyes on him and heard silence, which was hard to come by whenever Naruto was around.

"A bridge builder by the name of Tazuna has requested our services. He is afraid of being attacked by bandits on his way home to Wave Country. Your mission is to escort him there and see that he arrives back safely."

As if on cue, a man holding a bottle of alcohol walked in. He wasn't exactly a senior citizen yet, though his hair had grayed and he was definitely past his prime. He drunkenly assessed them.

"This is it? This is my mighty squad of ninja? A bunch of kids? That short one looks like he should still be in diapers!"

Despite having his shinobi skills questioned, Sasuke sneered at Naruto for the jibe while Sakura giggled. Naruto, not noticing at first, slowly realized that he was the shortest in their group.

As soon as the fact that he had been insulted processed in his mind, he leapt at his client. "I'm going to kill you!"

He was caught by his shirt half a second later by a disinterested Kakashi.

"No killing the client, Naruto."

Said hothead was still glaring mutinously at the bridge builder, but made no further detrimental move to the mission.

* * *

Walking out through those gates was one of the most exciting moments of Naruto's short life. It signified his first mission outside the village. He was leaving its walls for the first time, and damn it felt good.

Or, it did until about ten minutes into the trek. He frowned. Nothing was happening. If this kept up, he wouldn't have a chance to show off his awesome ninja skills!

"**Ninjas usually try to 'show off,'**" his tenant dryly commented.

Ignoring the voice, he glanced at Sakura behind him. She seemed to be content to stare at Sasuke's back. Sasuke, on the other hand, was positively radiating waves on boredom. Not that he'd admit it, of course.

"Oi, oi, Sasuke! Are you bored?"

"Hn."

"What the hell's 'hn' supposed to mean?"

"Hn."

"Are you just going to keep saying that?"

"Hn."

"Geez. If you say 'hn' again it means you want to kiss Kakashi-sensei."

"…hm."

"Argh!"

Kakashi once again sighed, as they passed a 'puddle'. Between Naruto's antics and the trained ninja – not bandits, ninja – after Tazuna, this was going to be a long trip.

He had no idea.

* * *

"One down!"

The three novice ninja stared in horror as their sensei was shredded by the chain-wielding men. There was no time for terror, however, as the Demon Brothers rapidly advanced.

The two boys quickly jumped into action, dodging the chains and landing a few quick hits before the two missing-nins got seriously. Just as Naruto received a cut on his hand, Kakashi reappeared to finish them off.

After securing the attackers, he tended to Naruto.

"The cut wasn't too deep, but there was poison in his weapon. If you don't get it out of your system quickly, you could die."

Naruto looked panicked. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit!"

Sweat dropping, Kakashi added, "You can bleed it out, you know, if you really want to."

The blonde pulled out a kunai and hesitated only for a second before plunging it into his palm. He let it bleed. "I don't go back on my word! We're finishing the mission!"

"Okay, but you can still die from blood loss if you don't stop it."

That was a lie, and Kakashi knew it as soon as he looked at Naruto's wound. Or, what used to be. It sealed itself up almost instantaneously. The Kyuubi's powers were amazing, he had to admit.

"Now, I believe you have some explaining to do," he said as he turned to Tazuna. "Those weren't mere bandits, they were ninja who were specifically after you."

Tazuna looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry, I really am, but I had no choice! Wave Country used to be prosperous and wealthy, until a ruthless business man named Gato came along."

"Gato?" Kakashi interrupted, raising his one visible eyebrow.

"You've probably heard of him. He one of the richest people in the world, but he secretly sells drugs and other performs other illegal deals. Right now, he alone controls Wave's ships, and its businesses. If I were to complete the bridge that connects to the mainland, however…"

"…then you wouldn't need the ships, destroying Gato's hold," Kakashi finished.

Tazuna bowed. "I'm sorry for hiding all this from you, but Wave is poor thanks to Gato, and we couldn't afford a B-rank mission price."

He then gave them an uncharacteristically bright grin. "You can go back to the village now, if you want. My grandson will cry and mourn me, and my widowed daughter will be crushed and hate Konoha forever, but it's not a big deal!"

"…"

"We'll get you back safely."

"Thank you very much," was the smug reply.

* * *

They were nearing Wave now. After the quiet boat ride, they landed.

In a word, it was beautiful. Wave Country had an amazing landscape. Naruto ran ahead, taking in every sight before noticing a slight shaking in a bush.

"**Brat!**"

"_I know!_"

In a flash, he whipped a kunai into the unsuspecting bush, startling every except perhaps the jounin. What came out was one very startled snow rabbit.

Sighing in relief, Sakura started on him "Naruto! Stop trying to act cool!"

Naruto himself was holding the rabbit. "Aw, I'm sorry, little guy…"

Kakashi was the only one to notice the oddness in its fur's colour. His eye widened a fraction and he yelled at everyone to get down at the same time the Kyuubi urgently said "**Naruto!**"

A huge cleaver, larger than any normal person would be able to life, let alone wield, sliced the air where their heads were moments ago and embedded itself into a nearby tree.

Standing on top of it was a menacing figure with his arms crossed and his mouth and nose covered.

"No wonder you got this far…Copy Ninja, Sharingan Hatake Kakashi."

"Missing-nin of the Hidden Mist, former member of the Seven Swordsmen…Momochi Zabuza."

Kakashi lifted his hitai-ate.

* * *

Well, well, well. Almost a full year later, we have an update! It's short, and it's a filler. Plus I wrote it from memory, and it's been a lnog time since I read those early chapters. I personally don't like the way it came out, but here it is.


End file.
